The present invention relates to door weather strips operatively coupled along peripheral edges of automobile doors for sealing gaps between doors and bodies by making elastic contact with the bodies of the automobiles.
As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, a door weather strip 10 has been operatively coupled along a peripheral edge of a door 1 (front door 1F, rear door 1R) of an automobile for sealing a gap between the door 1 and an automobile body opening edge of a body 2.
As shown in FIG. 7, the door weather strip 10 is formed by connecting die molded parts 71, 72, 73, 74 to extrusion molded parts 61, 62, 63, 64. The extrusion molded parts 62, 64 are operatively coupled on an upper part (roof side) of the peripheral edge of the door 1. The die molded parts 71, 72, 73, 74 are operatively coupled on upper corner parts which are continuous with the extrusion molded parts 62, 64.
As shown in FIG. 8, the door weather strip 10 includes: an installation base member 11 operatively coupled on the peripheral edge of the door 1; and a hollow seal member 12 which is integrally molded with the installation base member 11 and makes elastic contact with a door opening edge of the body 2 when the door 1 is in a closed position. A seal lip 13 protrudes from a position between the installation base member 11 and the hollow seal member 12 and a top end of the seal lip 13 makes elastic contact with the peripheral edge of the door 1.
There have been demands for increase in reaction force of the door weather strip 10. But, when a cross-sectional reaction force is increased around the whole door weather strip 10 on the door 1, the resultant door weather strip 10 degrades door closability.
In this connection, as shown in FIG. 8, the door weather strip 10 has been partially modified depending on necessity, by providing a pad 15 in the hollow seal member 12 or by adjusting thickness of a hollow wall forming the hollow seal member 12. Partial modifications have been performed on parts of the door weather strip 10, which face difference in level on the door opening edge of the body 2, for example.
But, providing the pad 15 increases cost and lowers productivity. Also, partially adjusting thickness of the hollow seal member 12 affects an outside diametral shape of the hollow seal member 12, degrades appearance, and hardly controls the reaction force.
In this connection, providing a plurality of protrusions on sealing surfaces of the hollow seal members has been known for preventing appearance of triangular spaces (see, for example, Japanese examined Patent Publication No. 5634344). In the structure, the protrusions are made of highly foamed sponge of materials which are different from that of the hollow seal members.
Unfortunately, however, it is very difficult to manufacture the door weather strips while meeting conditions that: the plurality of the protrusions are accurately provided on appropriate positions on the sealing surfaces of the hollow seal members; and the plurality of the protrusions are made of the highly foamed sponge of the materials which are different from that of the hollow seal members.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide the door weather strips capable of improving sealing performance on appropriate positions by simply transforming cross-sectional shapes of the hollow seal members.